As you probably already know, St. Nicholas Island, near Budva, is one of the best diving spots in Montenegro. Among its many fascinating sites, Galiola is one of our absolute favorites.

Why Galiola? This spectacular dive site features a massive rock formation that extends from the water’s surface down to a depth of around 30 meters. Sometimes, part of the rock even rises above sea level, making this location even more impressive. The depth of the dive is adjusted based on your certification level and experience, allowing divers of all skill levels to explore comfortably.

We start the dive in shallow waters, gradually increasing depth as we circle around the rock, exploring the rich marine life. This location offers an excellent chance to spot:

🐠 Lobsters, moray eels, octopuses, barracudas, scorpionfish, sea bream, mullet, parrotfish, and small shrimps.
🐠 Occasionally, we even get lucky and spot rays!

At the maximum depth (which depends on your certification level and air consumption), we spend a few minutes exploring before starting a slow, controlled ascent, following the rock wall.

At around 14 meters, we enter a small underwater cave, where we are almost always greeted by a scorpionfish – we make sure to say “hi” before continuing! From the cave, we ascend vertically towards the surface, passing through a narrow tunnel about 8-9 meters long, emerging at around 5 meters depth. Here, we perform a mandatory safety stop, and if we still have enough air, we continue exploring the top of the rock formation before surfacing.

Visibility at this site ranges between 10 and 18 meters, while water temperatures vary between 20 and 27°C, depending on the season and weather conditions.
The dive lasts between 45 and 55 minutes, depending on air consumption and diving conditions.

🟢 This dive is great in combination with the Tunnels dive site, offering two completely different yet equally fascinating underwater experiences!